How old is your cartridge? How many LPs has it gone through?

Posted by Terry P on February 28, 2006 at 12:47:46

In Reply to: Which component should I change first? posted by DualJon on February 28, 2006 at 12:19:41:

Assuming you have all the set-up tools that are required for decent vinyl playback - i.e., an alignment protractor and a stylus force scale, and know how to use them, the first purchase I'd recommend to you is a good record cleaning machine and solution. Its amazing what a good RCM can do for your sound! The improvement here is complemented by (and exceeded by) proper turntable/tonearm/cartridge set-up.

After you really, really know how to align a cartridge and the affects of adjusting VTA/VTF/antiskate (if the Dual allows it), the next thing is to determine the condition of your cartridge and its stylus. I don't know Shure cartridges, but based on your statement about "1980" if your Shure has not had its stylus replaced (or isn't NOS) you had better get a new cartridge.

After that, I'd recommend a phono preamp. You can run it into the aux input on the Marantz. I've found that a good external phono preamp can make a huge improvement in the dynamics of music. And since you enjoy rock (as I do), it would be a good investment.

A better choice if your funds are sufficient would be to purchase an integrated amp with a decent phono stage rather than a separate external phono preamp. That way you'd be upgrading your all of your amplification.

Have fun!

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Follow Ups Full Thread

Topic - Which component should I change first? - DualJon 12:19:41 02/28/06 (14)

It depends - energyandair 06:52:09 03/1/06 (1)

Re: It depends - DualJon 07:21:32 03/1/06 (0)

Re: Which component should I change first? (long) - landshark74 22:22:46 02/28/06 (1)

Re: Which component should I change first? (long) - DualJon 07:18:31 03/1/06 (0)

Re: Which component should I change first? - Phil_S 14:26:57 02/28/06 (0)

It all depends... - Enophile 14:09:05 02/28/06 (4)

Re: It all depends... - DualJon 14:22:48 02/28/06 (3)

Thanks for the extra info... - Enophile 15:52:47 02/28/06 (2)

Re: Thanks for the extra info... - DualJon 16:24:15 02/28/06 (1)

If you decide to go with a subwoofer... - tketcham 19:45:07 02/28/06 (0)

Terry P is right - trav 13:00:52 02/28/06 (0)

How old is your cartridge? How many LPs has it gone through? - Terry P 02/28/0612:47:46 02/28/06 (2)

Re: How old is your cartridge? How many LPs has it gone through? - DualJon 12:57:52 02/28/06 (1)

Re: How old is your cartridge? How many LPs has it gone through? - Crazy Dave 13:32:41 02/28/06 (0)

Follow Ups

How old is your cartridge? How many LPs has it gone through? - Terry P 02/28/0612:47:46 02/28/06 (2)

Re: How old is your cartridge? How many LPs has it gone through? - DualJon 12:57:52 02/28/06 (1)

Re: How old is your cartridge? How many LPs has it gone through? - Crazy Dave 13:32:41 02/28/06 (0)

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